


R and R

by 00AwkwardPenguin00



Series: Dragon of the Yuyan [28]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aang and Zuko stop in to help, Episode: s02e15 Tales of Ba Sing Se, Gen, I'm sure you can guess what dialogue, Iroh's living out his teashop au, and a tiny bit of plot, and get some wisdom, and some tea, anyway, everybody loves iroh, fluff and nonsense, how did PLOT get into my FLUFF???, including the gaang, some dialogue taken from Episode: s02e09 Bitter Work, that's frustrating, wait
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:54:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27436168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/00AwkwardPenguin00/pseuds/00AwkwardPenguin00
Summary: Where do you go when you need a break from the secret dystopian drama that is your life? Your uncle's tea shop of course.
Relationships: Aang & Toph Beifong & Iroh & Katara & Sokka & Zuko (Avatar), Aang & Zuko (Avatar), Iroh & The Gaang (Avatar), Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Dragon of the Yuyan [28]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1582384
Comments: 204
Kudos: 2052





	R and R

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MuffinLance](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MuffinLance/gifts).



Zuko lasts about three days before deciding _screw it_. He can't let a bunch of creepy spies keep him from seeing his uncle, after three years and his own insecurities separating them.

The morning dawns bright, and Zuko kicks Aang awake for morning meditation before dragging him out of the house to the closest train station. An hour long train ride later, they walk into Uncle's tea shop and are immediately greeted by a perky girl about Zuko's own age.

"Hi! Welcome to the Jasmine Dragon! My name's Jin, what can I get you this morning?" She says brightly.

Aang matches her grin with a smile of his own. "Hi Jin! I'm Aang, and this is Lee. Lee, what do you want?"

_**I'll have the house jasmine,**_ Zuko signs, knowing that Uncle has made his favorite variety of jasmine the house tea. _**Also, ask the tea master if he has anything similar to what the Air Nomads might have had, for my friend here.**_

Aang blinks, but relays the requests word for word. Jin seems baffled as well, but gamely smiles, shows them to a table, and bustles away.

"Do you really think your uncle has butter tea?" Aang asks softly, eyes wide and shining with a fragile hope. Zuko shrugs.

**_If he doesn't, he'll have something at least vaguely similar,_** he replies. _**Uncle's like J-U-N-E's shirshu with tea. If it exists or ever existed, he'll sniff it out, and either try to recreate it, or use it as inspiration.**_

About five minutes later, Uncle himself comes bustling out of the back with a tray in his hands, laden with a teapot and two cups, one matching the pot in decoration. His smile is beaming under his thick beard.

"Nephew! I was wondering when you would return!" He says jubilantly, placing the tray on the table. "And you've brought young Monk Aang! A true delight to see you again, young man!"

"Hi Master Mushi!" Aang says, as Zuko gives his Uncle a tight hug. "Sorry it took us so long to come, we got on the wrong side of some folks and had to lay low for a little bit."

"That sounds like quite an interesting story," Uncle muses, patting Zuko on the shoulder as he pulls away and busies himself with pouring. "Young Aang, I have here a recipe that I stumbled across on a visit to the Eastern Air Temple quite a number of years ago, and have been tinkering with ever since. I would love to know what you think of it." He places a teacup filled with a foamy, light brown-graduating-to-cream-colored liquid in front of Aang, who lights up with the biggest grin Zuko's seen on the airbender's face since Appa was taken. He takes a tentative sip, and bursts into tears.

Zuko’s not proud of it, but for a moment all he does is sit and gape as Aang full on sobs into his teacup. He’s never seen the normally nauseatingly cheerful monk cry like this— he’s more likely to rage, or go into the Avatar state, which is its own brand of terrifying. This… Zuko has no idea what to do with _this_.

Uncle, thank Agni and all the stars, is not useless the way Zuko is proving to be, and quickly sits down beside Aang and pulls him into a hug. Aang latches on desperately and sobs into Uncle’s shoulder as the old man pats his back and murmurs to him.

Eventually Aang calms, and Zuko can finally feel useful by handing his student a cloth napkin to wipe his face with.

“Thanks, Lee,” he says softly. “The tea was… really close, Master Mushi. Sorry, it’s just, it was just close enough to be familiar, but still different enough that it just… hit me again, that I’m the only person in the world who actually knows what sky bison butter tea actually tastes like.”

Uncle squeezes the arm still wrapped around Aang’s shoulders gently. “Grief is not a straight path, from one place to another,” he says quietly. “It is more like a meandering mountain stream, taking many twists and turns on its way down to the sea. Some days it runs clear and fast, and flows without impediment, but sometimes a tree limb unexpectedly falls across it, and it must find a new path. But still the stream flows, and with time, will reach the bottom of the mountain, and the sea."

Zuko hasn’t the least single clue what the old man’s talking about, but it seems to comfort Aang. The little monk wipes his eyes on the napkin and takes another sip of his weird tea, smiling a little wistfully.

Over the course of the morning, the shop gets increasingly busy, and Uncle cons Zuko and Aang into putting on aprons and helping out. Zuko mostly clears and wipes vacated tables, while Aang flits around taking orders like he’s been working there his entire life.

Just after noon, Hyeon arrives for his shift, and Zuko and Aang follow Uncle through the market as he gathers ingredients for dinner. Aang refuses to allow Uncle to pay for anything, using the stipend they're receiving from the Ba Sing Se government ( _cough_ the Dai Li _cough_ ) to buy everything on Uncle's list as well as a selection of dabao for their lunch.

They return to Uncle's little apartment, and Uncle bustles around putting his groceries away while Zuko and Aang dig into the buns. Uncle finally sits down and pours tea for everyone before beginning on his own bun.

They make idle conversation for a time, and then Uncle asks Aang about his training. Aang talks about his struggles with earthbending, how he'd really had to change his mindset in order to get it, whereas waterbending had come so easily to him.

"And firebending? Zuko is your teacher, yes?" Uncle asks, and Zuko has the weirdest feeling that Uncle knows more than he's letting on.

Aang grimaces and looks down at his hands. "Firebending's hard," he admits. "Zuko's been trying to teach me, but I can barely make a spark. He says I need to find a passion, to fuel my inner fire, but… that's almost completely counter to the teachings of the Air Monks. We were taught to detach ourselves from worldly concerns so that our spirits could be free. I can't think of anything I'm truly passionate about the way Zuko's passionate about saving the Fire Nation."

Zuko squeezes Aang's shoulder before turning to Uncle. **_Aang can do a bit better than a spark,_** he signs, **_but not that much better. He's got all of the katas down, but when he tries to do them hot, his fire is pretty weak. He was also really scared of fire for a while, which didn't help at all._**

"No, I can imagine that it wouldn't," Uncle murmurs, stroking his beard. "Aang, I suggest that you really think about what the purpose of the Avatar is, and how you can use that to fuel your firebending. The Avatar's power exists for a reason, after all."

Aang nods and wanders over to a corner to sit in a meditative pose, eyes closed and breathing even.

"Zuko, would you care to show your old uncle some of what you've learned since I last saw you?" Uncle asks, a small, reminiscent smile on his face. Zuko grins and stands.

**_I would be honored,_** Uncle, he signs.

Uncle clears away the remains of their lunch and stows the table away, leaving the main room of the little apartment clear.

Zuko runs through every kata he knows, reveling in the proud and impressed sounds Uncle makes as he watches. He has to do them cold, to avoid setting fire to the whole building, but Uncle is a Master Firebender and can see how the flames would form around Zuko and how they would move as he moves his body.

Zuko even shows off the redirection moves he'd created while up North, and Uncle's eyes nearly fall out of his head.

"Forgive me, Nephew, but that looks quite a bit like waterbending rather than firebending," he says.

**_I sat in on a lot of Aang and Katara's lessons with Master Pakku,_** Zuko explains. **_I noticed how similar a lot of the movements of waterbending are to those of firebending, and I thought it'd be kind of cool to see if I could adapt them to work with fire. Firebending has a lot of blocks, but not any redirections, so I played around while Aang and Katara were training. Master Ryoichi always encouraged creativity with bending._**

"Yes, he got that attitude from me," Uncle says, a broad grin spreading across his face. "Tell me, what did you learn from watching your friends learn to waterbend, my nephew?"

Zuko sits in seiza before his uncle, much the same way he had before Master Ryoichi on the rare occasions that his teacher decided to lecture, and raises his hands. **_I learned that while some of the forms of waterbending are similar to those of firebending, the difference is in how each style responds to attacks. Firebending leans into attacks, blocks them with force before counterattacking. Waterbending leans away from attacks, seizing the force and using it as counterattack._**

"Yes, absolutely right," Uncle says, nodding approvingly, and Zuko feels warm from the top of his head to the tip of his toes at the affirmation. "Waterbending deals with the flow of energy. Now, what do you know about lightning?"

Zuko frowns, trying to think of anything Master Ryoichi had said about it. It wasn't a skill that was common among firebenders, mostly confined to the Royal Family. He can't remember the Master ever mentioning it, and nervously delves deeper into his memories to see if the Palace Masters had ever spoken of it Before. If they had, it had been to declare that Zuko would never be able to bend it, yet another item on the list of reasons why he was a disgrace to the Royal Blood. Mentally shaking himself, he thinks about Azula, and their duel at the peak of Omashu. How she'd been very calm and cool as she seemed to split the very air with her fingertips.

_**All I know is that it seems to require immense control,**_ he signs slowly, still mulling over the question.

Uncle nods gravely. “Lightning is a pure form of firebending, without aggression,” he says. “It is not fueled by rage or other negative emotion the way Imperially mandated firebending is. To perform the technique requires peace of mind.”

Uncle explains how firebenders can form lightning by separating positive and negative energies. It’s fascinating, and as terrifying as it had been watching Azula do it, Zuko kind of wishes that they were in a place where he could see Uncle perform the technique, and maybe try it himself.

“Now, to bring this back to your friends the waterbenders,” Uncle says. “Remember how I said that waterbenders deal with the flow of energy. A waterbender lets their defense become their offense, turning their opponent’s energy against them. You learned how to do this with fire. I learned how to do it with lightning.”

**_You can teach me to redirect lightning?_** Zuko’s heart soars. Finally, a defense against the lightning his crazy sister likes to fling around! He may be able to keep Aang alive after all!

Uncle stands and takes a perfect horse-stance. “If you let the energy in your own body flow, the lightning will follow it,” he explains, holding up his arms with pointer and middle fingers out. “You must create a pathway from your fingertips, up your arm to your shoulder, then down into the stomach.” As he speaks, his left hand traces the path in a simple, surprisingly graceful movement. “The stomach is the source of energy in the body; it is called the ‘sea of chi’. Though in my case, it’s more like a vast ocean!”

Zuko grins as Uncle pats his ample belly and chuckles at his own joke. He’s missed Uncle’s goofy sense of humor.

Sobering, Uncle continues, getting back into form. “From the stomach, you direct it up again, and out the other arm,” he says, demonstrating as he speaks. He turns a very grave look on Zuko. “The stomach detour is critical. You must not let the lightning pass through your heart, or the damage could be deadly.”

Zuko nods solemnly. Just watching Uncle demonstrate tells him that the move is nearly as dangerous as the lightning it redirects—at best you’d end up with singed or scorched fingertips and an upset stomach. At worst you’d flash-fry yourself from the inside out.

Uncle coaches him through the movement, and soon Zuko can feel his chi following the path his body makes, warming his arms and stomach.

“There, you’ve got it!” Uncle praises, grinning broadly. Zuko returns the grin and bows formally, saluting with the Flame.

_**Thank you for the lesson, Uncle,**_ he signs.

Uncle returns the bow and the salute with misty eyes. "It was an honor to teach you, Prince Zuko," he murmurs, and wraps Zuko in a hug perfumed with jasmine and ginseng teas.

Zuko nearly has a heart attack when someone starts pounding on the apartment door. Uncle releases him with a pat on the shoulder and goes to answer the door.

"Master Mushi!" Shrills Lin, Uncle's dishwasher. "Hyeon sent me to get you! There's a posh guy from the Upper Ring in the shop, he wants to see you!"

Zuko and a very thoughtful Aang follow Uncle back down to his shop, where a ridiculously dressed Upper Ring man is waiting. The discussion that he has with Uncle goes nearly entirely over Zuko's head, though he does hear the name "Beifong" mentioned a time or two. Eventually Uncle and the man shake hands and bow, and Uncle turns to Zuko with a beaming smile.

"Nephew, did you hear that? The Jasmine Dragon is opening a location in the Upper Ring!" He cheers.

Zuko matches Uncle's grin with one of his own and gives him a hug. **_That's fantastic, Uncle! Congratulations!_**

"This calls for a celebration! You and your friends must all join me for dinner! I insist!" Uncle demands, practically dancing, and Zuko can't help but chuckle at him.

Aang happily dashes off to retrieve the rest of the squad, and soon Uncle's little apartment is full to bursting and raucous with laughter and talking. The meal is simple but filling, and watching Uncle and Katara dance around each other in Uncle's tiny kitchen to make it is hilarious. As the evening winds on, Uncle produces a Pai Sho board and welcomes challengers. Zuko flatly refuses, having no head for the layers of strategy required to play, but Aang and Uncle have a very interesting match where despite Aang’s century-old tactics, Uncle still proves himself a Pai Sho Master. Aang admits defeat gracefully, and comes to sit snuggled against Zuko’s side.

They watch as strategically-minded Sokka proceeds to give Uncle a real run for his money, while Katara whispers a running narration for Toph, who makes color commentary. There’s an air of intense but friendly competition permeating the small apartment, and Zuko soaks it in as he nurses his cup of jasmine tea. Beside him, Aang shifts.

“Zuko,” he says quietly, “thanks for inviting us here, and sharing your Uncle. He’s a really cool guy.”

Zuko doesn’t reply past patting his friend on the shoulder. Aang and the others are his squad, his family, just as much as Chihese Squad and Commander Toshiaki and Master Ryoichi and Dr. Atsuko are. Of course he’d share Uncle with them.

Aang squirms again, and Zuko glances down at him with an eyebrow raised in question.

“Um… do you think… this is peace,” Aang stutters out, obviously trying to figure out the right way to say something. “This, hanging out together, having fun, this is peace. I want this to stay, to keep happening. Do you think… could this be my passion? To protect this peace, to spread it? Could that fuel my firebending?”

Zuko blinks. It’s definitely something to think about, and maybe experiment a little with. He’d known since meeting the kid that the aggression inherent in firebending, even firebending fueled properly with passion and positive emotion, would be hard for the pacifistic monk to wrap his head around. If he can find a way to reconcile his pacifism with the need for aggression in firebending, he could very quickly and easily outclass even Azula and Ozai.

Zuko puts down his teacup and unwraps his arm from around Aang’s shoulders. _**Enjoy this break while you can, Pupil,**_ he signs with a smirk. _**Because sunrise tomorrow… no more Mr. Nice Sifu.**_

Aang gulps nervously.

**Author's Note:**

> Next time: **Extraction**


End file.
